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Brown had been on administrative leave since Aug. 17 after a heated public service committee meeting.

"I think it just became an obvious difference in managerial styles, our organizational culture here, and I think there were some clashes that happened at that point," said Anderson Mayor Terence Roberts. "It's unfortunate that it came to that. It's always hard for anyone in the organization being terminated."

Moore said city leaders weren't happy with the way Brown was managing the police department, and felt that Brown wasn't including officers below him in the decision making, and day-to-day operations.

"The police department really needs to go into a different direction from a management and leadership standpoint, and also to achieve who can work closely to the city manager, and the council under this mayor-council form of government. It's important to acknowledge that the chief is under the oversight of both the council, and the city manager, and that just wasn't the case here," said Moore. "What we do as far as your severance pay is it's your unused vacation time. There is no special package, it's just the standard package the city offers."

The city issued a statement Friday afternoon saying: "Police Chief Martin Brown is no longer employed with the City of Anderson."

The release said:

"City Manager John Moore said, 'We appreciate Chief Brown's years of service and wish him well. The City will move forward under new leadership and a new management direction.' The City of Anderson and the Anderson Police Department will continue to meet the steadfast mission of preserving the peace, protecting and defending Anderson citizens, businesses, and visitors.

"Captain Jim Stewart has been serving as acting Chief and will continue to do so. According to Moore, 'We have the utmost confidence in Jim Stewart, the Command Staff, and our dedicated officers to move us forward.'

"Moore commented that the Department's most immediate objectives are to 'move ahead with our efforts to seek officer input, and to identify peer agencies and determine how Anderson Police Department stacks up with those agencies. Our goal is to ensure that the Police Department operates at its highest and best possible level, and is a place where law enforcement officers want to work.'

"Moore concluded with comments about the process for selecting a permanent chief: 'We will be working on identifying our process and a time frame. Previously we have had a team of law enforcement professionals assist in the process. We can evaluate this and other methods employed by municipal law enforcement.'"

Anderson Mayor Terence Roberts said Saturday the decision to put Brown on administrative leave involves issues raised by officers, but no one is alleging wrongdoing.

The decision followed a meeting last Friday between city officials.

Roberts said the two-week involuntary leave gives officials time to talk to officers and consider organizational changes in the department.

Brown has been police chief since February 2006.

He began his law enforcement career in 1975 as a patrol officer in Belton. He joined the FBI a year later. He was assigned to the FBI's Greenville office from 1993 to 2006.